Don't listen to Iraq doomsayers, listen to the people

July 4, 2004 — 10.00am

Saddam Hussein was furious last week in his first court appearance in Baghdad after being charged with war crimes and genocide. "This is all theatre," he shouted. "The real criminal is Bush." Maybe he's been reading Michael Moore.

The former despot's justification of his crimes during his coming trial is sure to echo the loonier teachings of the anti-American commentariat. But as millions of Iraqis quietly celebrated the early handover of Saddam and sovereignty, it was no surprise to find an unrelenting stream of pessimism from many mainstream news sources. If media expectations have any impact on outcomes, there is no hope for Iraq.

Yet on the internet is an antidote: a flowering of fresh voices from Iraq, from ordinary people sitting in internet cafes writing online diaries, or weblogs (blogs). They are not journalists; their claims are untested. Yet their words are compelling and often uplifting, quickly finding a global audience hungry for authentic, unfiltered, first-hand accounts of life in the remade Iraq.

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One of the most popular of the 30 or so Baghdad blogs is Iraq The Model (iraqthemodel.blogspot.com), written by the three unmarried Fadhil brothers, Omar, 23, a dentist, Ali, 33, a pediatrician, and Mohammed, 34, also a dentist. They are Sunni Muslims, like Saddam (who they detest). After launching their blog last November they now have 5000 visitors every day from around the world, Ali said in an email interview last week.

"We have some readers from Australia and we expect more readers from there especially after Tim Blair [The Bulletin journalist and blogger] posted some of our articles," he said.

Last Tuesday, Ali wrote about the so-called Baghdad surprise, the early handover of sovereignty, under the headline "Small party and great hopes", and posted photographs of himself and colleagues celebrating. (He took the photos so he does not appear in them.)

Here are his words:

"I was on duty-call in the hospital all yesterday and I was in the ward when I heard the news that [former US administrator Paul] Bremer had already transferred the power to the new government two days ahead of the expected date . . .

"My friends all seemed thrilled and optimistic, yet they seemed to have no interest in celebrating the event. I decided to do something so I asked one of my colleagues to cover for me for an hour; I told him that I have to get something from outside. I directly headed to the nearest bakery and ordered a nice cake and returned to the hospital as fast as I could. On the way, I didn't see any large celebrations but I noticed that the streets were busier than usual and people looked lively and relaxed.

"We gathered around the cake to celebrate the happy event. Some of us were celebrating regaining sovereignty, some were celebrating the end of occupation, others were happy because they think the new government will bring safety and order. I was celebrating a new and a great step towards democracy, but we were all joined by true hope for a better future and by the love we have for Iraq.

"The hall was busy and everyone was chatting and laughing loud. They had Al-Jazeera on then suddenly Mr Bremer appeared on TV reading his last speech before he left Iraq . . .

"The speech was impressive and you could hear the sound of a needle if one had dropped it at that time. The most sensational moment was the end of the speech when Mr Bremer used a famous Arab emotional poem.

"The poem was for a famous Arab poet who said it while leaving Baghdad. The scene was very touching that the guy sitting next to me (who used to sympathise with [radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr]) said, 'He's going to make me cry!'

"Then [Bremer] finished his speech by saying in Arabic, Aash Al-Iraq, Aash Al-Iraq, Aash Al-Iraq! (Long live Iraq, long live Iraq, long live Iraq)."

Get fit to fight fat the fun way

When it comes to the battle against obesity, experts agree that getting children active is the key.

Fitness entrepreneur Nick Bousie has been preaching that message for eight years+ since he founded Action Sports, a personal training organisation for children as young as five.

Last year he piloted his "Bousie Boot Camp" program for years 3 to 6 at Blessed Sacrament school in Mosman, with stunning results.

He gives students a list of 15 to 20 exercises they can do around the neighbourhood and for which they are rewarded with "fitpoints". A lap around Balmoral Oval scores three points and, if you can drag along a family member (not a dog), you get an extra two.

The most challenging exercise is "The Everest Challenge" - jogging "The Seven Hills of Mosman" - which gleans 35 points.

The aim is to reach 100 points to become eligible for prizes and trophies.

"The main idea behind it is to get them moving," said Bousie, and the improvement in fitness levels shows it's working.

At the beginning and end of the program he gets the children to run as many laps around a tennis court as possible in 12 minutes.

The best improvement was an average six laps per child in one class. The worst was about 3.5 laps per child, still a significant step-up.

With the new focus by governments on extra exercise programs in the syllabus, the trick will be to engage children in a fun way. Otherwise the backlash will produce a generation of disaffected junior couch potatoes.

A heroic survivor who still has the fire in his belly

Volunteer bushfire fighter Kurt "Albert" Lance, 79, was seriously injured in a tractor accident on his Sackville farm last month, and had to walk 500 metres for help with five broken ribs, a punctured lung, and head and spinal injuries.

But, as he says himself, he is "as tough as an old boot" and thanks to his extraordinary fitness and the efforts of the ambulance, CareFlight helicopter crew and trauma staff at Westmead Hospital, he survived.

His many friends breathed a sigh of relief last week when he came home, "fragile" but feisty, and got straight back on the email.

A Vienna-born champion skier and member of the Hawkesbury bushfire brigade for 36 years, Lance has been the driving force behind the campaign for bushfire prevention and greater autonomy for volunteers.

His enthusiasm and knowledge about such topics as hazard reduction have helped keep the Government and bushfire authorities accountable. We wish him a speedy recovery.